Scientists cancel extra “leap seconds”: world time will be continuous from 2027
An international group of scientists, diplomats and time-measuring specialists at a conference in Versailles, France, voted to abolish the "extra second." ...
An international group of scientists, diplomats and time-measuring specialists at a conference in Versailles, France, voted to abolish the "extra second." This decision will make Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) continuous.
The extra second allowed to keep the correspondence between UTC and the time determined by the rotation of the Earth (UT1), with an error of no more than one second. The length of the day on these scales is close, but not identical: the planet rotates unevenly. To avoid discrepancies, a second was added to UTC every few years.
UTC is the global time standard. It is guided by devices and navigation systems. The UTC value is calculated as a weighted average of time from atomic clocks around the world. It is distributed by the International Bureau of Weights and Measures. Soon after the introduction of the standard in 1960, scientists noticed that the rotation of the Earth is slowing down, and it no longer coincides with the countdown of seconds on the atomic clock. At the initiative of astronomers in 1972, UTC first added a second. It has been done 27 times since then.
However, in the mid-2010s, the Earth’s rotation began to accelerate. Scientists have predicted that a “negative leap second” may be needed by 2029. Engineers considered this a technical problem. The whole world would suddenly be thrown back a second, causing chaos in the digital infrastructure. Since 2022, experts have been looking for a practical solution.
The conference decided to give up leap seconds. The UTC scale will be continuous. Instead of adding individual seconds, the difference between UTC and UT1 is greater than before. If the difference becomes critical, add not a second, but an hour. According to forecasts, the next “leap hour” will take no earlier than 1,000 years.
For digital infrastructure, switching to a continuous scale is more convenient. The risk of software failures and service outages associated with the “time gap” will be significantly reduced.
